Brad Neely has been around for some time, making comics, animated YoutTube videos, and having whole cartoon shows created out of his genuis/madness. "Creased Comics," is a new book which collects a chunk of his earlier-ish work, the stuff that helped him go from being in a student newspaper to eventually writing for, "South Park," and getting his weird stuff like, "China, IL," on the air (Cartoon Network's Adult Swim has often been a home for wild material). Neely has always had this amazing absurd air to his work, the kind of thing where you get it or you don't. Plus, even when you sometimes do get it, ya still really don't!
"Creased Comics," serves as a showcase for how Neely's been making odd stuff for decades, and it has been a hoot for years too. The pieces within this book are basically all one-panel gag strips, but the best pieces tell a whole story that exists outside of the frame. A bald eagle angry that a human fell out of the wheelchair it was carrying (to feed the person to its young). A grandmother known for always getting, "In a pickle," finding herself about to engage in a footrace with Satan for the souls of the grandkids. One of my favorite--and quite dark--pieces, a young boy who faked his death, patiently watching out of his assumed parents' sight as they put his favorite toy car by his grave and he considers how long he has to wait to reacquire the toy. Here's that one as it cracked me up:
Neely has some short text pieces between the strips that discuss just how he started making comics, and why. A weird childhood, a strange sense of humor, and the metaphor of basically opening his mental window, "Open," and seeing what flutters in are all aspects of how we end up with his, "Creased Comics," and anything else bizarre-yet-enjoyable he's crafted. Witnessing Neely spill his clever and twisted psyche onto the page with pencil and ink is a rewarding activity. You think, you laugh, and you say, "What the Hell?" It's good stuff.
5 out of 5 Stars.
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